Legendary double bass virtuoso Gary Karr has passed away.
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Karr died on July 16 from a brain aneurysm. He had recently been diagnosed with aggressive, inoperable cancer, according to classical music outlet The Strad. He was 83.
RIP to the greatest classical bass soloist of all time, Gary Karr. pic.twitter.com/hjTvFB5nzM
— The Topical Zealot (@TopicalZealot) July 17, 2025
Karr, born on November 20, 1941, in Los Angeles, was first taught by his grandfather’s friend, Uda Demenstein. He studied at USC and The Juilliard School, mentored by Herman Reinshagen and Stuart Sankey.
In 1962, Karr performed ‘The Swan’ from Carnival of the Animals as a soloist on Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts, gaining widespread attention. He performed as a soloist with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Chicago, London, Montreal, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.
Early in his career, he spent significant time playing in Japan, where he felt “embraced for my lyrical ability and natural humour, which inspired me to bare my soul in ways that were never respected in other parts of the world,” as he told The Strad in 2021. Karr commissioned and premiered numerous works for bass and made over 90 recordings.
Gary Karr Also Enjoyed a Career as a Prolific Teacher
Meanwhile, Karr taught at Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Hartt School, Yale, Indiana University, and in Halifax’s school music program.
Karr also founded the International Society of Bassists (ISB) in 1967 to promote global awareness of the double bass. With nearly 3,000 members in 40 countries, the ISB hosts biennial conventions, publishes a triannual magazine, and unites bassists from diverse styles and backgrounds.
In 1962, Gary Karr received Serge Koussevitzky’s 1611 Amati bass from Koussevitzky’s widow, Olga. He played the instrument for decades before donating it to the ISB in 2004, where it was renamed the ‘Karr–Koussevitzky’ bass. In 1983, he founded the Karr Double Bass Foundation, a non-profit that loans instruments to talented young musicians.
Karr also received several major awards, including the Rosa Ponselle Foundation’s Bronze Medal, the American String Teachers Association’s Artist–Teacher of the Year Award, and the ISB Distinguished Achievement and Distinguished Teacher Awards.